1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a motor vehicle comprising at least one electric motor, an energy storage device for providing drive energy for the electric motor, a plug connector connected to the energy storage device for connection to a current source and a control means for controlling the flow of current from the current source to the energy storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles which store electric charge have already been known for some time and are eminently suitable for journeys over short and medium distances. In order to make such a vehicle usable the available energy storage device has to be charged up. When the vehicle has covered a certain distance the storage device has to be charged up again. In that case, a careful driver will re-charge the energy storage device after each journey in order always to have at his disposal the greatest possible range.
As state of the art reference is made generally at this point to the following publications: DE 692 20 228; DE 197 22 644 and P 43 37 978.
As journeys with the electric vehicles—like with all other vehicles—cannot always be exactly planned in advance, it can happen with such a procedure that the energy storage device of the vehicle is to be charged up precisely when the cost of the energy is at its highest, and when in addition the supply network is most heavily loaded, for example during what is referred to as a midday peak.
That is disadvantageous both because of the high price of buying the energy while it is also disadvantageous because of the loading on the supply network which in any case is already highly loaded.